A month in a horse's life: healing process of a fractured third metatarsal bone from medieval Viljandi, Estonia.

The remains of a horse's hind foot - a third metatarsal bone and three phalanges - were found in a presumed waste pit of a prosperous medieval household in Viljandi, Estonia, dated from the second half of the 13th to the beginning of the 15th century. The metatarsal bone had been broken during the horse's lifetime and showed evidence of partial healing. Using archaeological, zooarchaeological, morphological, microscopic, densitometric and radiographic analyses, we investigated the bones and the healing process in order to understand animal treatment in a medieval urban context. Our results show that the fracture was a complete comminuted fracture that appears to have been closed and stable, caused most probably by a trauma from a strong impact. Based on callus formation and the worn edges of the separated diaphysis, the horse had survived for at least a month and used the injured foot to some extent. We suggest that the horse was treated by splinting the foot and keeping the animal in a standing position during the healing process. Eventually the horse died because of a wound infection, or was killed. The relatively long period of careful treatment indicates the animal's economic or emotional value.

[Crazy horse disease]. / La enfermedad de los caballos locos.

With the apparition of the crazy cows disease at the end of twentieth century, great was the temptation for denominate "crazy horses disease" an ancient enzootic encephalo-myelitis, known from the 17th century and now named "Borna disease" in 1970, because severe outbreaks affecting horses in this city of Germany since 1885. But the sickness was not a prion disease but a viral one, causing also encephalopathy in several other animal species. After seventy years of investigation, the finding of the virus in human patients with psychiatric pathology in the eighties gave an incentive to work harder, and the genome structure of the so called Bornavirus was completely described. Recently, japanese investigators found that elements homologous to the nucleoprotein (N) gene of Bornavirus exist in the genomes of several mammalian species, including humans, in which these sequences have been designated endogenous Borna-like N (EBLN) elements. And now the question is what they are doing there since their integration two million years ago.

La enfermedad de los caballos locos / Crazy horse disease

Resumen Con la aparición de la enfermedad de las vacas locas a finales del siglo XX, nació la tentación de llamar enfermedad de los caballos locos a una Antigua enzootia alemana, una encéfalo-mielietis conocida desde el siglo XVII y desde 1970 llamada "enfermedad de Borna", a causa de severos brotes afectando a los caballos en esa ciudad de la Sajonia desde 1885. Como los animales caminaban en círculos, cruzaban las patas, se veían lentos y estúpidos y parecían experimentar fuerte cefalea, algunos observadores ignorantes, entonces y ahora, pudieron pensar que estos caballos estaban locos. Más, no era una encefalitis espongiforme causada por un prion, sino una infección viral que podía afectar a varias especies animales. Después de setenta años de investigación en busca del agente causal, la aparición de las vacas locas motivó a los investigadores a darse prisa, que se hizo frenética al encontrar el virus en pacientes humanos afectados por diversas patologías psiquiátricas en los años ochenta, hasta llegar a la completa secuenciación del ahora llamado Bornavirus. No terminaba de rechazarse por completo su rol en estas patologías, cuando investigadores japoneses encontraron elementos homólogos al gen de la nucleoproteína N del virus en el genoma de varias especies de mamíferos, incluyendo la humana. Designadas estas secuencias como elementos endógenos Borna-like N (EBLN), que se habrían integrado a nuestro genoma hace dos millones de años, la pregunta que surge es… ¿qué han estado haciendo allí durante tanto tiempo?

With the apparition of the crazy cows disease at the end of twentieth century, great was the temptation for denominate "crazy horses disease" an ancient enzootic encephalo-myelitis, known from the 17th century and now named "Borna disease" in 1970, because severe outbreaks affecting horses in this city of Germany since 1885. But the sickness was not a prion disease but a viral one, causing also encephalopathy in several other animal species. After seventy years of investigation, the finding of the virus in human patients with psychiatric pathology in the eighties gave an incentive to work harder, and the genome structure of the so called Bornavirus was completely described. Recently, japanese investigators found that elements homologous to the nucleoprotein (N) gene of Bornavirus exist in the genomes of several mammalian species, including humans, in which these sequences have been designated endogenous Borna-like N (EBLN) elements. And now the question is what they are doing there since their integration two million years ago.

Proximal interphalangeal joint ankylosis in an early medieval horse from Wroclaw Cathedral Island, Poland.

Animal remains that are unearthed during archaeological excavations often provide useful information about socio-cultural context, including human habits, beliefs, and ancestral relationships. In this report, we present pathologically altered equine first and second phalanges from an 11th century specimen that was excavated at Wroclaw Cathedral Island, Poland. The results of gross examination, radiography, and computed tomography, indicate osteoarthritis of the proximal interphalangeal joint, with partial ankylosis. Based on comparison with living modern horses undergoing lameness examination, as well as with recent literature, we conclude that the horse likely was lame for at least several months prior to death. The ability of this horse to work probably was reduced, but the degree of compromise during life cannot be stated precisely. Present day medical knowledge indicates that there was little likelihood of successful treatment for this condition during the middle ages. However, modern horses with similar pathology can function reasonably well with appropriate treatment and management, particularly following joint ankylosis. Thus, we approach the cultural question of why such an individual would have been maintained with limitations, for a probably-significant period of time.

A tall rostral hook in a medieval horse premolar tooth.

Development of dental abnormalities due to improper occlusal wear is common among modern domestic horses. This phenomenon often is attributed to jaw conformation. Rostral mandibular hooks may develop in horses with underjet or mandibular prognathism, a condition where the lower jaw protrudes forward, beyond the upper jaw. Less abrasive diet, free of phytoliths and matrix-like plant fibers, also may promote enamel and focal overgrowths of equine dentition. Here we report a rostral mandibular hook in a lower premolar tooth of a medieval horse, found in a spring deposit in Levänluhta, Osthrobothnia, Finland. To our knowledge, this is the first such report from a medieval horse.

African Horse Sickness Virus: History, Transmission, and Current Status.

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is a lethal arbovirus of equids that is transmitted between hosts primarily by biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). AHSV affects draft, thoroughbred, and companion horses and donkeys in Africa, Asia, and Europe. In this review, we examine the impact of AHSV critically and discuss entomological studies that have been conducted to improve understanding of its epidemiology and control. The transmission of AHSV remains a major research focus and we critically review studies that have implicated both Culicoides and other blood-feeding arthropods in this process. We explore AHSV both as an epidemic pathogen and within its endemic range as a barrier to development, an area of interest that has been underrepresented in studies of the virus to date. By discussing AHSV transmission in the African republics of South Africa and Senegal, we provide a more balanced view of the virus as a threat to equids in a diverse range of settings, thus leading to a discussion of key areas in which our knowledge of transmission could be improved. The use of entomological data to detect, predict and control AHSV is also examined, including reference to existing studies carried out during unprecedented outbreaks of bluetongue virus in Europe, an arbovirus of wild and domestic ruminants also transmitted by Culicoides.

Characterisation of the epidemic strain of H3N8 equine influenza virus responsible for outbreaks in South America in 2012.

BACKGROUND: An extensive outbreak of equine influenza occurred across multiple countries in South America during 2012. The epidemic was first reported in Chile then spread to Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, where both vaccinated and unvaccinated animals were affected. In Brazil, infections were widespread within 3months of the first reported cases. Affected horses included animals vaccinated with outdated vaccine antigens, but also with the OIE-recommended Florida clade 1 strain South Africa/4/03. METHODS: Equine influenza virus strains from infected horses were isolated in eggs, then a representative strain was subjected to full genome sequencing using segment-specific primers with M13 tags. Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences were completed using PhyML. Amino acid sequences of haemagglutinin and neuraminidase were compared against those of vaccine strains and recent isolates from America and Uruguay, substitutions were mapped onto 3D protein structures using PyMol. Antigenic analyses were completed by haemagglutination-inhibition assay using post-infection ferret sera. RESULTS: Nucleotide sequences of the haemaglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of Brazilian isolate A/equine/Rio Grande do Sul/2012 were very similar to those of viruses belonging to Florida clade 1 and clustered with contemporary isolates from the USA. Comparison of their amino acid sequences against the OIE-recommended Florida clade 1 vaccine strain A/equine/South Africa/4/03 revealed five amino acid substitutions in HA and seven in NA. Changes in HA included one within antigenic site A and one within the 220-loop of the sialic acid receptor binding site. However, antigenic analysis by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay with ferret antisera raised against representatives of European, Kentucky and Florida sublineages failed to indicate any obvious differences in antigenicity. CONCLUSIONS: An extensive outbreak of equine influenza in South America during 2012 was caused by a virus belonging to Florida clade 1, closely related to strains circulating in the USA in 2011. Despite reports of vaccine breakdown with products containing the recommended strain South Africa/03, no evidence was found of significant antigenic drift. Other factors may have contributed to the rapid spread of this virus, including poor control of horse movement.

Getah Virus Infection among Racehorses, Japan, 2014.

An outbreak of Getah virus infection occurred among racehorses in Japan during September and October 2014. Of 49 febrile horses tested by reverse transcription PCR, 25 were positive for Getah virus. Viruses detected in 2014 were phylogenetically different from the virus isolated in Japan in 1978.

Twenty-five thousand years of fluctuating selection on leopard complex spotting and congenital night blindness in horses.

Leopard complex spotting is inherited by the incompletely dominant locus, LP, which also causes congenital stationary night blindness in homozygous horses. We investigated an associated single nucleotide polymorphism in the TRPM1 gene in 96 archaeological bones from 31 localities from Late Pleistocene (approx. 17 000 YBP) to medieval times. The first genetic evidence of LP spotting in Europe dates back to the Pleistocene. We tested for temporal changes in the LP associated allele frequency and estimated coefficients of selection by means of approximate Bayesian computation analyses. Our results show that at least some of the observed frequency changes are congruent with shifts in artificial selection pressure for the leopard complex spotting phenotype. In early domestic horses from Kirklareli-Kanligecit (Turkey) dating to 2700-2200 BC, a remarkably high number of leopard spotted horses (six of 10 individuals) was detected including one adult homozygote. However, LP seems to have largely disappeared during the late Bronze Age, suggesting selection against this phenotype in early domestic horses. During the Iron Age, LP reappeared, probably by reintroduction into the domestic gene pool from wild animals. This picture of alternating selective regimes might explain how genetic diversity was maintained in domestic animals despite selection for specific traits at different times.

Use of X-rays to treat shoulder tendonitis/bursitis: a historical assessment.

This article assesses the therapeutic efficacy of ionizing radiation for the treatment of shoulder tendonitis/bursitis in the USA over the period of its use (human 1936-1961; veterinary 1954-1974). Results from ~3,500 human cases were reported in the clinical case studies over 30 articles, and indicated a high treatment efficacy (>90 %) for patients. Radiotherapy was effective with a single treatment. The duration of treatment effectiveness was prolonged, usually lasting until the duration of the follow-up period (i.e., 1-5 years). Therapeutic effectiveness was reduced for conditions characterized as chronic. Similar findings were reported with race horses in the veterinary literature. These historical findings are consistent with clinical studies over the past several decades in Germany, which have used more rigorous study designs and a broader range of clinical evaluation parameters. Radiotherapy treatment was widely used in the mid twentieth century in the USA, but was abandoned following the discovery of anti-inflammatory drugs and the fear of radiation-induced cancer. That X-ray treatment could be an effective means of treating shoulder tendonitis/bursitis, as a treatment option, and is essentially unknown by the current medical community. This paper is the first comprehensive synthesis of the historical use of X-rays to treat shoulder tendonitis/bursitis and its efficacy in the USA.

Historical aspects of Potomac horse fever in Ontario (1924-2010).

In the summer of 1924 Dr. Frank W. Schofield conducted investigations into an endemic disease of horses in the Kent and Essex counties of Ontario. According to farmers in these counties the disease had existed in this region for at least 50 years previously. The clinical, pathological, histopathological, and epidemiological findings outlined in Schofield's detailed report strongly suggest that this endemic disease was what was designated in 1979 as "Potomac horse fever" (PHF). This assumption is further substantiated by transmission experiments involving horses and laboratory animals that were conducted by Schofield utilizing horse feces, whole blood, and mayflies. The aim of this paper is to present Schofield's detailed investigations and findings and to compare these with PHF research conducted from 1979 to 2010 that ultimately led to the discovery of Neorickettsia risticii as the etiological agent and to elucidation of the organism's complex life cycle.

Aspects historiques de la fièvre du Potomac en Ontario (1924­2010). À l'été de 1924, le Dr Frank W. Schofield a réalisé des enquêtes sur une maladie endémique des chevaux dans les comtés de Kent et d'Essex de l'Ontario. Selon les fermiers de ces comtés, la maladie existait dans cette région depuis au moins 50 ans. Les résultats cliniques, pathologiques, histopathologiques et épidémiologiques présentés dans le rapport détaillé de Schofield suggèrent fortement que cette maladie endémique était celle qui a été désignée en 1979 comme la «fièvre du Potomac¼. Cette supposition est aussi appuyée par des expériences de transmission portant sur des chevaux et des animaux de laboratoire qui ont été réalisées par Schofield à l'aide de fèces de chevaux, de sang total et de mouches de mai. Cet article a pour but de présenter les enquêtes et les résultats détaillés de Schofield et de les comparer avec la recherche sur la fièvre du Potomac réalisée de 1979 à 2010 qui a donné lieu à la découverte de Neorickettsia risticii comme agent étiologique et à l'élucidation du cycle de vie complexe de l'organisme.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).